Daniel Brophy, 63, a chef and long-time instructor at the Oregon Culinary Institute, was found fatally shot in the school kitchen on June 2, 2018, as students arrived for the morning’s classes. He had been shot twice, once in the back and once in the chest; there were no signs of force or struggle and no indication of robbery, as his wallet, cellphone, and car keys remained with him. The killing occurred around 7:30 a.m., while Brophy was preparing for the day.

Investigators’ attention turned to his wife, Nancy Crampton Brophy. Traffic cameras placed her gray minivan near the institute shortly before the shooting and returning to her home afterward, contradicting her initial account of being home that morning. Prosecutors relied on surveillance, gun-purchase and firearm-modification evidence, digital searches about Glock maintenance and assembly, financial motive including about $1.4 million in life insurance, and inconsistencies in her statements. Nancy Crampton Brophy was arrested September 5, 2018; a jury found her guilty of second-degree murder on May 25, 2022, and she was sentenced to life with parole possible after 25 years on June 14, 2022.